Mahershala Ali was first announced to be headlining the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Blade reboot in the summer of 2019, but development has hardly been moving at a rapid pace since then. In fact, three years will have passed between the initial reveal and the first day of shooting, which is an eternity for a franchise that’s always propelling itself forward.
The two-time Academy Award winner has had a huge hand in the creative process, with Kevin Feige revealing that Ali approached him about Blade, and not the other way around. The star and producer then spent six months inviting pitches from writers before Stacy Ossei-Kuffour landed the gig, while Bassam Tariq was only officially confirmed to direct last month.
However, a new Twitter post from Marvel India briefly sent the internet into a tizzy when it appeared to show that Blade was coming to theaters in October 2022, as you can see below.
Unfortunately, that won’t be the case, although that may have been the plan originally. Not only does Marvel already have release dates locked in through to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3‘s May 2023 bow, but Blade isn’t even set to start shooting until July 2022. The MCU can move at a brisk pace, but getting a mega-budget comic book blockbuster over the line in two months is impossible, but there is an October 2023 slot still available.